Rangel: Election may affect future seniority

Saturday

Sep 24, 2011 at 2:08 PM

AUSTIN — During a recent conversation with former Texas House Speaker Pete Laney, the Hale Center Democrat told me that in 1999 he appointed Rep. Gary Walker committee chairman, even though the Plains Republican was starting his third term.

Usually, speakers don’t appoint third-termers to committee chairmanships because they don’t have enough seniority or experience, but he felt Walker could chair a panel, Laney said.

This explains why this year Speaker Joe Straus did not appoint a third-termer to lead a panel. However, in the 2009 session — his first as leader of the 150-member chamber — the San Antonio Republican appointed Democratic Reps. Veronica Gonzales of McAllen to the Border & Intergovernmental Affairs Committee and Yvonne Gonzalez Toureilles of Alice to Agriculture & Livestock.

I thought about what Laney said after the newsletter Quorum Report reported that there are now 26 House seats up for grabs next year. Considering that the registration period for the March 6 Democratic and Republican primaries is seven weeks away, it’s conceivable that the freshman class of 2013 could be at least 30, a greater-than-usual turnover.

Now, why should you care? Because if there is another high turnover — there were 38 rookies in this session, including four from the Panhandle/South Plains region — nearly half of all representatives would have little or no seniority.

This means that if freshmen GOP Reps. John Frullo and Charles Perry of Lubbock, as well as Jim Landtroop of Plainview and Four Price of Amarillo are re-elected next year and in 2014, in the 2015 session they would qualify for a chairmanship.

The region could also gain lots of seniority if Walker ousted Landtroop in the Republican primary because returning legislators regain their seniority. In fact, Walker intends to make regaining his seniority a campaign issue.

If Landtroop prevails the region would still be in good shape because in this year’s session he, Frullo, Perry and Price received high marks from their peers.

Seniority is critical for any region, particularly for the Texas Panhandle and South Plains, because in the Legislature the balance of power has gradually shifted to the east. This is due to the explosive population growth of the last two decades in large metropolitan areas.

Not long ago there were influential legislators from the region: Laney and Republicans Warren Chisum of Pampa, Carl Isett and Delwin Jones of Lubbock, as well as John Smithee of Amarillo and David Swinford of Dumas.

However, Laney, Isett and Swinford started retiring while Perry ousted Jones in last year’s Republican primary. In addition, Chisum is stepping down to run for railroad commissioner next year.

Once Chisum leaves, Smithee would be the only House member from the delegation with enough seniority — provided he returns. For the past several sessions the 26-year veteran has mulled retirement.

This is why a high House turnover in 2013 would start benefiting the delegation as early as 2015.

In the Senate, seniority is not an issue for the region because Republicans Robert Duncan of Lubbock and Kel Seliger of Amarillo already chair panels. In addition, three senior Republican senators won’t seek re-election in 2012 and their departures create new opportunities for Duncan and Seliger. With Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, retiring, Duncan would have a shot at getting appointed chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, which Ogden has led since 2004.

However, let’s not get carried away because no one knows for sure whether the redrawn maps the Legislature approved survive major court challenges.

Civil rights groups and Democrats allege that the redrawn Texas House and congressional districts Seliger and Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, redrew — as chairs of the redistricting committees in the Senate and House — violate the Voting Rights Act, the 1965 landmark legislation aimed at giving racial minorities an equal voice in the electoral process.

If the courts side with the plaintiffs, redistricting could start all over again. Who knows what would happen then?

Enrique Rangel is Austin Bureau chief for the Globe-News His email address is enrique.rangel@morris.com.

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